Depression affects approximately 14.8 million American adults. If depression is left untreated, it can affect not only your mental well-being but your physical life as well. It has been researched that with ongoing despair and sorrow you can increase the chance of turning towards drugs or alcohol in order to ease yourself. On average throughout someone’s lifetime, 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men will become depressed in some sort or fashion. Today, I would like to address 2 things: the signs of depression and some ways that we can fight it.

Signs of Depression

Have you ever been overwhelmed with sadness? Do you sometimes feel lost and empty at certain points throughout your day? Have you lost the joy of your day? These all might be signs of depression, and it’s important to understand where it’s coming from. It’s helpful to understand and know the signs of depression so you can catch it before you sink too deep into it. Some signs of early depression might be decreased energy, fatigue, or feeling sluggish. Feelings of helplessness, guilt, and worthlessness is a sign that is very commonly found in early symptoms. Even loss of focus, lost in thought, or secluding yourself from activities that used to bring you joy are all signs of depression.

Depression can also affect your sleeping habits leaving you restless some nights. You might catch yourself waking up early, sleeping restlessly, oversleeping, and in some cases struggling with insomnia. You might also notice changes in your eating habits, either eating way more than normal or not having an appetite at all. Weight gain or weight loss seems to be another attribution to being depressed. The biggest sign of clinical depression is thoughts of death or suicide attempts. If this is the case, please call 1-800-273-8255.

Ways To Help Depression

Depression can strip away the structure you have had in your life so it’s important to be able to keep your life organized. Try planning out your day and staying to that script as much as possible. It’s also important to be able to stay busy and interact with people. Others words of encouragement can get you out of a slump, and staying busy keeps you away from sulking. Do things that you enjoy. Find what makes you happy and just do it. Being depressed won’t just leave automatically so get in the routine to do things that you enjoy each day.

Exercise and eating healthily will boost the chemicals in your brain that cause you to be happy. Your mind, body, and soul are all connected so by putting yourself in better shape you are becoming healthier. Don’t oversleep but get just the right amount each night. It’s important to avoid your bed until you’re ready to go to bed in order to avoid being bedridden. Reflect on whats making you depressed and search for a solution. With personal insight, you will be able to search for the cause of your sadness. Find a solution through your reflection and make yourself happy again.

Depression is a real illness. It is important to be able to keep mind, body, and soul in tip-top shape in order to stay healthy. If you have questions or need help visit https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/depression-hotline/. Since insurance is often times overwhelmingly confusing, we want to shed light on this industry by answering YOUR questions. So if you have any questions or concerns, comment below and your question may be the topic of our next video!